How to Recognize God
by Tonja Taylor

God, where are You? many of us have wondered--maybe, more than once. 

We want to feel the LORD. We want our flesh and mind to be assured that He is with us. We long to touch Him, and see Him. 

And we can, but God is a Spirit; He must be spiritually discerned, sensed. He is not a Man (Colossians 1:15), although Jesus the Christ, God's Son, is. 

Colossians 1:13-15 (AMPC) says, 13 [The Father] has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 In Whom we have our redemption through His blood, [which means] the forgiveness of our sins. 15 [Now] He is the exact likeness of the unseen God [the visible representation of the invisible]; He is the Firstborn of all creation.

We were made for relationship; first, with our Creator, our dear Father God, then for one another. As Believers Who have received Jesus as Savior and LORD, we know these things; we know God is Spirit. However, our flesh likes to be comforted. We like hugs, and words of encouragement. 

So if God is a Spirit (invisible to us until we get to Heaven), and if Jesus, Who is a Man, ascended to Heaven, then how can we recognize God? 

It's simple: God is Love (I John 4:8). When we see Love in action; when anyone does a loving thing (and selfishness, it has been said, not hate, is the opposite of love), that is God's Spirit in action! 

So what is "Love," exactly? It's certainly not what the world calls "love" (which is a mix of lust and infatuation, with all kinds of wrong emotions involved). 

Love is what God says it is, in I Corinthians 13:4-8:  4 Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.

5 It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].

6 It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.

7 Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].

8 Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. As for prophecy (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will be fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by truth].

Love is truly a decision, and often, an overcoming one. 

So when anyone--including yourself--demonstrates one of these attributes, it is God revealing His Love.

One apostle said that "God is all good. The devil's all bad. If it's good, it's God. If it's the devil, it's bad."

Simple, right?

The problem comes in when people don't discern the differences between "good" and "bad." 

That's why most of the world is confused about God. They don't know when they are seeing Him or not! 

The way we know the difference is in the Word of God. We must align our lives with the living, unchanging, eternal Word of God--the Holy Bible--and then, we will know good from evil.

Then, we will know true Love.

Then, we will recognize God! 

 

 



Through books, courses, presentations, service, prayer, worship, and more, Tonja and her husband live to exalt God. Her series for girls, P.O.W.E.R. GIRL ADVENTURES, is now out (books I-V), along with LEGACY; YOUR HOLY HEALTH: VISIONS OF THE KING, and more. See the "River Rain Creative" YT channel.

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